About Me

Person generally interested in the simple mechanics, pleasures and management of a life of contentment and positive contributions without excess or complacency. I live in awe of God's creation and try not to be disheartened with what some are doing with their share of these gifts.
What we have can be wrestled from us with little notice and needs our watchfulness.
Army brat and Veteran. Country girl turned city girl, then back to country. Masters and bachelor's degrees in applied science from Michigan Tech and Dartmouth respectively.
SITE DISCLAIMER: Products and retail outlets mentioned are based on my experiences with them. If I write something favorable, it is because I have had consistently good experiences. The buttons on the blog page are sites I endorse.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Why I love my healthcare spending account

What a concept! A program that allows you to put aside your own $$, tax-free, to reimburse yourself for copays and other medical and dental expenses you incur! Seems a little like free money to me, but somehow this program has survived essentially intact and without additional taxation.

I've been participating in the program for about 5 years now. At first I noticed the extra dollars not being in my paycheck. Not so much any more. My insurer has partnered and does a direct-billing thing, so my MD visit and prescription copays are automatically refunded to my checking account. How convenient!

Here's the really great part, at least I'm appreciating it right now -- they reimburse for large dental expenses -- like a root canal -- which even dental insurance usually does not cover. I can understand why -- the need for a root canal usually means you just ignored your teeth for a long time so why reward someone who needs one?

I really did not ignore my teeth. I go in at least once a year , usually twice for the X-rays and cleaning. I plan to get the x-rays from my September visit to see whether these guys just flat missed the problem. I can't imaging that the tooth blew-up under an apparently OK filling in just 4 months. Baffling to me.

Anyway, I was thrilled to find out that this will not be a huge hit to me financially. The icing on the cake is that they will also reimburse me for the nitrous oxide I was sucking during the procedure. I believe the oral surgeon was happy about my choice as well -- I tend to be a bit anxious when people are messing with my teeth, so he didn't have to put up with my grimaces and white-knuckles either.

If you are employed, find out if your employer offers a health care spending account program. It is at least a two-fer -- lower income tax and reimbursement for costs your insurance does not cover. There is a catch -- you lose any funds you put into the account that you do not use during the year. Example, if you participate by having $25 taken from each 2-week paycheck, you'll put away $650 dollars toward your medical expenses and reduce your taxable income by $650. If you only claim $625, the other $25 will not be returned to you, as it was not used for its intended purpose.

Good planning and record-keeping will prevent that loss. In addition to the medical and dental, it will reimburse for new prescription glasses and some other personal care expenses. Each program is a little different, but in general reimburses for all of these things. Filing requires copies of receipts, a statement of what you paid for (usually the billing statement is enough) and a simple form. If you are high-tech, this can all be done electronically.

Again, with a little planning this is a great deal. Thus far in 5 years, I have run out of Health care spending account funds before I have run out of year.